One Day
Another Night
for M.L.R.
we would pass now
like strangers, she and I
just members of the crowds
boarding or disembarking the trains
entering or leaving one metro station
or another or the other
we have faded again into the crowds
into being strangers again
after our episodes in bed
we were strangers then too
I, like a paying customer
she like a professional
providing a service, expertly
expertly providing a service
I thought it was by love inspired
but I do not know now
what it was inspired by
bye bye to crying eyes
bye bye, black bird
black cock, erect neck
cococarooco
dividing the day and the night
dividing day from night
we were never not strangers
never ever friends
though I thought we were gift,
bestowed without delay
or without much delay,
by heaven
heaven,
it seems, has taken its gift back
our contact
not connected in bed,
in intimacy, not connected
holding hands as we used to,
going about Mexico City,
kissing the way lovers kiss
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
7:29 p.m. 20.01.12
Another Round of Hearts
for T.L.A.
would you mind
if I fell in love with you again
I was once
that I can confess
was until I was pushed away
until our conflict
until it was clear
that it was not appreciated
my heart, beating,
offered to you whole
like a water melon
heart,
meal you had no appetite for
insulted it, insulted me
my precious offer, unappreciated
no, it was not- it was never friendship
I was after, I was cultivating
damn the difference of our ages
it was love I was after –
love I was into
want to be into you like that again
after a time of separation
after our time apart
after an affair I was into
that is very likely over now
I am ready to return home
to Limón, to Costa Rica
to the prettiest girl upon the planet
prettiest girl
on God's green earth
an affair she was having- was into
to guard it, you had to- you chose to
shove me away, shoo me away
like flies - a nuisance, annoying you
what will it be this time around
welcome or farewell or go away
don't bother me
want another round of hearts
thrown back and forth to catch
laughing, chasing about, running
having fun
but we must not let them drop
must not let your heart or my heart
hit the ground, the pavement
must not let them- get them-
let them get bruised up
covered with dirt and sand
must hold them safe in two hands
what ups and downs, already,
we've survived -
our affair has a history
devoted to you once
want to be devoted, similarly,
once again
what will I, this time,
be subjected to
what will I subject you to
close enough again,
to watch each other grow
what will we undergo
need to redefine what motivates
what we share
do not want friendship
want to be captain-
want to run the ship
sail the ship
cabin upon it for you and me
to frolic
alcoholics in the ballroom
well dressed, drunk
and dancing waltz
walls for our laughter
to ring off
verbs to reverberate
to ring out
parts of speech
to take apart
you to disassemble
and to reassemble
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
7:16 a.m. 20.01.12
Crushed Ice
for M.L.R.
i.
could we have
walking together back
joined like that
our steps, our hands
your right, my left
ink left to muddy pages with
paper to talk to, to talk with
we used to converse as best we could
as best we could was good enough
was all the world
we used to be boy and girl
were planning to be man and wife
maybe all too fast
two hearts, together beating,
have come apart
how it was that we were joined as we were
while we were, was like a fairy tale
how it commenced and that it did
and that it sustained, a mystery
a gift from somewhere lofty
from up above, from on high
why has heaven revoked us
taken back what was granted
what did I- did you or did we do
to forfeit such a treat
what harsh word or words
to cause us to come crashing back
into this harsh world
what patience lacking
to cause us to be pulled apart
when we were like ice skating partners
connected, helping, lifting
as we twirled, turned
our partnership is what I miss
that I could allow you
or that you could allow me
to come crashing down to ice
is so without mercy, without care
is so very cold
after having been so enormously warm
hot hot hot worried me a little
I was concerned about burning out
all too readily, all too soon
it was walking hand-in-hand
kisses in public that was best
that thrilled me most
not under-done or over-done
under-cooked or over-cooked
that tenderness was best
it is the tenderness I miss
and want back, that bliss
that connection, that connected
that though is but one side of you
one side of me as well, I imagine
there is as well
the woman of self-defense
woman trained in martial arts
the adversarial side
needing an opponent
made me one
needed me it seemed
in opposition
instead of on her side
I thought God was on our side
thought he had ordained
that we be joined
ii.
how could it have been just a fling
a thing to use
and then to fling away
at the end of the day
iii.
we might have allowed
too many people into-
to enter what was ours
what was too new for all the world
their trampling feet,
their peeping eyes, their curiosity
our affair, too soon mixed
with the affairs of this world
delicate as it was
like a litter of kittens
lacking fur, eyes not open
needing to be licked,
needing to be shrouded,
veiled from the eyes of all the world
we should not have announced
to all the world, what our plans were
what it was that we had discovered:
gold and frankincense and myrrh
we should not have told Herod
where the young child was
wrapped in swaddling cloth
lying in a manger
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
Written between 1:15 p.m.
on Thursday, January 19
and 2:55 a.m. on Friday,
January 20, 2012
Little Boy Blew
for Sergio, Mariana & M.L.R.
all the air, all of a sudden
released again into the atmosphere
little boy's blue balloon
he was hitting up and keeping up
determined not to let touch the ground
does end upon the ground
is blown away, ahead of him
with him following swiftly
into the neighbor's yard
neighbors I am staying with
with whom I've stayed overnight
little boy's blue balloon
blows against a small flowering plant
and goes, pop
what was in it
suddenly mixes with what was without
what was a toy, a play-thing,
is a play-thing no more
a piece of rubber,
boy with his sister, in the road
babbling away in Spanish,
has no more use for
no use for what he cannot again
blow up, fill with air
in the early morning, on the beach
a day ago, I was asked,
at the point of her wanting penetration
wanting me to enter her, had I rubbers
"latex" is the word she used
I hadn't
we'd gone as far as we could go
as far as we dared go and turned back
climbed down from the great height
that we had gotten to
we'd have had no-longer-useful rubber
we'd have afterwards, most likely,
disposed of rubber in the sand
on the beach, full of little tadpoles
a generation of my offspring
Trojan warriors, dying, perishing
their tails whipping, lashing
we never got to that
what was left
of the little boy's blue balloon
he did not pick up
with his sister,
with her amber-colored balloon
fortunately still in tact,
they ran away, shrouded in
the noise they made
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2011
7:44 a.m. 04.11.11
Blue Is My World
for M.L.R.
I do not feel lovely
how can she love me
what does she sense
what does she see
I'd put off love making
I'd push her away
until I can assemble
all the pieces in place
some semblance of enticing
she knows not
with what devils I wrestle
I must pin down
heads of dragons I must cut off
to get into bed with her
to be intimate- to copulate
like we at times have
like we sometimes do
not automatic to feel attractive
with my body, its systems,
acting up, its systems backfiring
digestion, circulation,
defecation, excretion
all of these questionable
I must yet try to master them
put what misbehaves to sleep
or try to - she hasn't a clue
what I must do- must undergo
everything I eat
almost immediately after
or not long after, I have to do do
these in the way of romance
I had been jogging on the spot
morning and evening
to get on top- to stay on top of things
now my right foot has given out
delicate bones in this foot,
I seem to have fractured,
one or several
it hurts to walk, I hop instead
some film with some injured soldier
comes to mind
"Ryan's Daughter" it is for certain
British officer on the hill top
hopping, moving swiftly
Ryan's daughter, in white night gown
having left her husband's bed
hurries to this officer
she has fallen in love with
it is infirmity, this image
of him hopping, part of the romance
part of his heroism
he had been wounded, injured
while fighting- while at war
and because of it was decorated
my injury occurring
running on the spot, indoors
trying to stay well, attempting
to boost my immune system
and this calamity
my love and I, at present
not getting along-
affair on the rocks
over a bottle of Noche Buena beer
she wanted a second bottle of
I put my foot down
I delivered a sermon
on the need to deny ourselves
give the extra you'd spend
on luxuries like beer to the poor
with their hands out
whom you usually pass by
or shoo away
living in her house
sleeping in her bed
and I have suddenly become
persona non grata
will this state that we're in lift
or will I have
to vacate these premises
for dignity's sake
guest in a house
here in Mexico City
and I feel humiliated, unappreciated
what input am I allowed
modern day woman
with little use
for the leadership of a man
want to have their own way
go their own way
your money to spin, to spend
your cock to gyrate on
but they have their own ideas
no more than contempt
for the ideas of men
last night I was made to feel
like that beautiful
emasculated man
in "Blue," with Juliette Binoche
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
9:38 p.m. 19.12.11
Along Came Song
for M.L.R.
steps that were designed
by the divine or by the devil
tracks that were laid
by hands from hell
or hands from heaven
which am I making- which am I on
what existed between us initially
who orchestrated it
who connected us
was it of God or of the devil
what I thought was bliss
asked this one and that one
to pray for us, to pray for it
what was I asking God to bless
to add whip cream of heaven to
asking angels in heaven
to lift up- to lift us- to approve
light of heaven,
invited to shine in on it
and could it withstand this added
this exposure, such revelation
evil doings
or what was not in keeping
with what heaven, the Gospels
and Christ intended
woman seeking after pleasure
assume she could
make her own rules
could have her private pursuits
anything she liked-
anyway she liked it
whenever she wanted
what The Book says, no matter
what the guide says
of no importance, of no consequence
but The Book does matter
as much today as it ever did
book of life is the book for life
forever
do not understand
her not appreciating all I contributed
seems she still does not appreciate
what my time costs
I could have been elsewhere
in service otherwise and to others
it seems she never understood
whose I was, to whom I belonged
or to whom I belong
she seemed to think me flimsy
morally, materially, otherwise
some playmate, some play thing
some paperweight
does she know how powerful
is the family- are the friends I have
does she know
that I must be their shining star
this hour and every hour
unable to resort
to just any lowness
to what is lowdown
to just any mess
after all the discipline,
the suffering, the sacrifices,
she expects me
to lie down in sin and get up
and go on and not care
pleasures that are not blessed
eat food over which grace
has not been said
I have been abandoned, repudiated
for having principles
for taking the high road
rather than the low road
wanted- and I want still
what was pure between us
want her to know that
you cannot have whatever
do whatever without having
to suffer- without having
to face the consequences
what you do in secret
shall certainly end up in the open
end up in the light
what is covered by night,
sure to end exposed by-
exposed in daylight
just another man she met and went with
all that I am supposed to be
what she attempts to reduce me to
after all the commitments we had made
after the depths to which we went
after the depths of what I thought
we had invested
what I wanted us to mean
thought we meant mutually
was I meaning one thing
meaning one way and she
was meaning her own thing
some other way, entirely
attached,
would we have forever been
pulling in opposite directions
she pulling from my pocket
pulling the guts inside me out
what is or was within me
inside me coiled,
extending more and more
like a fish on a line
big fish on her line to bring in
or to relinquish
attached and in pain
she is attached to me too
it costs me, it must cost her also
for both of us, the pleasure
and the pain - for both of us
the consequences
for the incorrect sequence
of what was shared
take a toy apart- a car apart
anything apart- there is
this to put back and then that
however painstaking
is the order we must observe
must be followed if we want
what we are assembling
or reassembling to work, to run
we could not- we cannot
put ourselves together
any-kind-a-how, any-kind-a-way
and expect to function
to be right together
right for each other
or to make right, to make better
a little bit
of all the wrong in this world
I do not- did not want
to be added to- or to be more of
what is messed up
it is precisely why I write
to put- to make something
run as it should
like a river rather than like blood
off a sidewalk, onto the side
of the road when someone
is stabbed or shot
am I to go- are we to go
the way of the world
should we not be
on our way to heaven
on the wings of doves
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
11:25 a.m. 18.01.12
Game of Chance
for M.L.R.
she wants to be able
to push men about
as if they were light
or light to lift
as if they were all
just puppies on strings
to pull, to yank
to caress sometimes
kick sometimes
kiss sometimes
she wants a man
to have, to hold
when it´s cold
to enfold, to enfold her
when she feels like it
to refuse
when she does not
feel like it
my God,
I certainly could not abide
being reduced
to a house guest
to a house mouse
to a house fly
when the week before
when the day before
we had been lovers
romance evaporated
just like that, in a flash
too fast occurring to be seen
what was responsible
for the status change
how did I come to be
stripped of all my badges
of the rank I had
without being decorated
like I had been
she expected me
to hang around
who was a general
reduced to a private
what a reshuffling
of a deck of cards
© Obediah Michael Smith
4:00 p.m. 16.01.12
When We Come
to A Fork In the Road
M.L.R.
don´t ask me to determine
where the pieces fall
how the pieces fit
of what used to be
our relationship
let them fall where they may
fit how they may or not fit
at the end of the year
at the end of the day
when the way ends or divides
so be it
if we must proceed
along separate ways
like together arriving
at a fork in the road
and dividing like the road divides
not at all long ago
her thighs used to open
used to divide
like a fork in the road
us two to come and to go together
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
6:25 a.m. 16.01.12
Go or Stay or Go Astray
for M.L.R.
what will you have me do or be
oh Lord, oh Saviour
will you have me go or stay
what way will you have me turn
towards or away from this woman
with her opposite sides
with her inside out
with her back to front to face
from day to day, from time to time
my own flip-flopping
like a fish on a deck
like a fisherman with a club
for a fish on deck, pitching, wishing
it were back in the sea,
swimming away
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2011
4:11 a.m. 19.12.11
Honey & Vinegar
for M.L.R.
she will forever be
shifting back and forth
lika a lunatic
between north and south
between east and west
her needle banging back and forth
between heaven and hell
between salvation and damnation
what damn nation
is this we're living in
we've fallen into
out of bliss
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2011
4:02 a.m. 19.12.11
Ecclesiastes
for M.L.R.
don't hold back
what is unhappy
what is happening or has happened
that you do not like
with time, let it run, let it fly, let it slide
allow it to glide away with the day
no need linger in dirty bath water
after you have used it
after you have washed off
let it out, let it circle and swirl
let it go down the drain
always a fresh day with fresh hours in it
always a fresh hour with fresh minutes in it
always a fresh minutes with fresh seconds in it
let go of what's spent- of what's lost
more and more life and opportunities
arriving without end
more life, more days, more nights to spend
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
10:26 p.m. 17.12.11
In or End the Life Within
for M.L.R.
he does not drink
he does not smoke
what else then does he-
is he going to fill his life with
they wonder, want to know
we all have a grave
to fill with our bodies, sooner or later
how desperate some of us seem to done-
to spend the life within us
desperate to end the life we're in
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2011
3:15 a.m. 17.12.11
Circle Ends
for M.L.R.
all of them in a circle
sucking on-
sucking down cigarettes
Maya, my wife-to-be, among them
trying to done time
as my mother used to say
but they will be done
before time is done
they will end before time ends
their time will end
before time's time comes
they are making merry
or they think they are
people's methods of making merry
usually make me sad
angels weep
not glad
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2011
3:10 a.m. 17.12.11
Furry Lewis Blues
for M.L.R.
shy little kitten
she keeps between her legs
asleep until I arouse her
until I wake her up
to turn over and about
to go out to play
until exhausted,
panting,
wet
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2011
12:03 p.m. 18.12.11
Roll of Thunder Roll of Dice
want to shit on-
want to sit on my own toilet seat
seat at home, occupied by only me
my toilet seat, my library seat
there where I sit to read
books I check out
hours sometimes upon
what is by some, for some reason,
called a throne
am I sad here-
have I become sad here
after a fling of happiness- a toss
after one, I won
after another, I loss
is my life to be based upon
the toss of dice
like the economy of The Bahamas
must I add my love life,
my love nights, my lovely days
I must accept me
no matter who does not
myself to live with
not for a month,
not for a few weeks
I have myself to live with
every second on my life
as long as life shall last
this the gift
that heaven has bestowed
must love me before anyone can
long after whoever cannot
stops
I must buy lotion for my hands
how rough they look
how awful they feel
do I miss the elegance
the opulence
of Sol Kerzner’s Atlantis
on Paradis Island
in The Bahamas
there I'd use the toilet
and sit at times
for several hours
sit until
a book I'm reading is read
rest rooms as large
as a comfortable apartment
larger than what is
for some persons
an entire house
am I dreaming of home
longing for home
for Kemp Road
where I live in the house
in which I was conceived
in which I was born
uncomfortable street
that is at times though
like heaven on earth
when it rains
I am as if in a great big cage
enclosed in the bars
falling rain makes
about the house falling
off the four sides
of my house roof
off my house top
any window
out through which I look
I see the rain
wetting the leaves of trees
across the street
beneath the canopy
of the convenience store
school children
in their uniforms
young people
and not-so-young people
gather, wait until the rain,
falling, holds up
when it’s bright
in the sunlight,
the rain is a lot
of silver strands
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
10:42 a.m. 10.01.12
Whom We Rub We Bruise
for M.L.R.
thin as skin
skin as thin as a frog´s skin
thin-skinned
barrier too insubstantive
to make much difference
offended by everything
by nothing at all
why as defensive-
as easily offended
as she is
is she also aware
of how often
of how constantly
she offends
without knowing
or without caring
or without caring too much
or without caring enough
that she offends
but out of proportion blows
what wrong is done her
even if done inadvertently
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
12:20 a.m. 14.01.12
A Poem Written
In A Park I Found
for M.L.R.
in an instant
it was as if
I was not pretty anymore
no longer lovable
no longer lovely
rug drawn out from underfoot
from under me
should I have been, in the first place
dependent upon her
to give me a positive view of myself
emphasizing though a part of me
that I do not wish emphasized
how well I can or cannot fuck
and how frequently
not a test I wish to pass
or not to pass
wanted an affair based upon
my ability to love her
her ability to love me
ability to stick it out
through thick and through thin
whatever came or comes
hell or high water
she wanted sex to rely on
like a drug
wanted this added
to the other substances
she abuses
cigarettes and alcohol
did not like my calling her back
to the subtler pleasures
the small joys
from which she feels
she has long ago graduated
things I suppose
she considers play-play
child´s play, childish
some children´s affairs
this is what happens
when innocence is lost
or has been tossed aside
or tossed away
stuff I clutch
like I clutch my pen
in a grip in my hand
innocence as important to me
bun containing cheese
in the hollow inside
I bought one of
I should have purchased
2 or 3 or 4 or more
want to be drunk
on what is good for me
on who is good for me
thought I was good for her
thought she was good for me
I still do- I do still
here in Mexico City still
attached to it
in love with her, in love with it
with this city, her city
this relationship
I´ve come to through her
our affair, attached to this affair
affair with place, with time
with space
am I displaced, displeased
am I out on the edge
am I out on a limb
am I in good hands
am I in God´s hands
Friday the thirteenth
what peace I feel
fifteen dollars for the moment
all that is left on my account
in Nassau, on New Providence
to draw off- to draw on- to draw from
Christ though, his Father
heaven and the Holy Spirit
have long ago assured us
that Grace is sufficient
promised to provide each day
what each day requires
only I must- we must
not be greedy
must be discerning
must recognize love
in all its guises
however great-big-grand,
however infinitesimal
without end prepared
to embrace and to swallow it
to be embraced
and to be swallowed by it
I need a lotion or cream
muey efficacious
for my rough hands
I must not fail to be lovely
when love comes along
when love comes around
always hovering near
as near as the light
as near as the dark
as near as the life within
I am without end
hemorrhaging poems
happy to have pages-
to have paper
to soak them up with
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
3:58 p.m. 13.01.12
You Better Move On
for Cedric Scott
moving on for me
is not just-like-that
is not as easy as pie
not when the sky
has fallen in upon a love affair
want to linger, assess it,
go back over every footstep
over what, just a day or so ago
was so full of promises
we had made such profound plans
all the plans, like plants, like palms
so soon uprooted
sky fallen in, roof fallen in
upon the dining room table
unashamed that I am crying and crying
that I am weeping still
that I am making poems of ink and tears
of a mixture of these
after you have invested
what you have invested
in the affair you're in
in love and marriage
would you be able, easily,
to up and move on, were you,
God forbid, today or tomorrow,
to split up
dare you say that my love is/was
less significant
because it has not
existed as long
because it has existed weeks
and yours has existed years
have I no right to want her back
to want to continue what we started
where we left off
have I no right to want to go back
to her neighborhood
I know though that our breakup
that our breaking up
is tied to the other men in her life
who have let her down
whom she, most likely,
has let down also
like she's let me down
thinking, in all these cases
it is- it was
the fault of her father,
two brothers, two X-husbands
now me
all these men to hate
who have hurt her
whom she has hurt
worse than she is aware
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
9:34 p.m. 10.01.12
In Mexico out in
or out of the Cold
somebody, not only you,
can feel like they have-
that they have bumped into destiny
into their destination
upon meeting you
awaiting someone- awaited event ,
occurring finally
not necessary that she belongs
to a circle of poets
circle of poets can turn out to be
a circle of witches,
circle of bad news
good news, someone new
to cross your path-
could cross your path
and can, with you,
go on to open- to make- to create
a path together that never was
across snow, maybe
you two in warm coats,
warm clothes, warm underclothes
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
10:07 p.m. 10.01.12
In careful Hands
of M.L.R.
able to pull the rug out
from under your feet
and without mercy, she does
not caring if you fall- if you fell
on your hip or on your teeth
this, when I used to think
she was
sweet sweet sweet
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
10:02 a.m. 10.01.12
Ten Weeks Long
in a very different
Mexico City now
from the one she and I shared
am I becoming angrier
as angry as she is
rhythm of life in this city
its demands, requiring
that you adapt, toughen up
am I being changed
having the city to face myself
head on, come what may
without her to go about with
hand-in-hand
without her to lead and to guide me
without her, like Moses,
to open the way, the ways,
the passages, the passage ways
without her to provide,
in addition, that narrow passage,
the candy of it, the candy that it is
or the wrapper that it is
to wrap, so very well,
the length of my hard, dark
chocolate
no longer entertaining
eyes, asses, shocked
at what they consider to be
difference that is extreme
let them look in delight or disgust
or whatever or however
I am abandoning
meeting their gaze, these gazes
abandoning trying to read
what this difference
of mine means
they are as different from me
as I am from them
let them process me
however they please
it is Monday
this is a new week
I must be strong
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
4:08 p.m. 09.01.12
I Vow to Thee
for M.L.R.
you mean even if she lets me down
is this what you meant
when you insisted, implored me to-
how did you put it-
stand beside her
stand up for her
did you mean even if she let me down
or lets me down or lets me drop
as she has
longing, waiting, wondering
will she pick me up again
you mean that I should stand by her
stick by her, stand up for her
no matter what
stand by her, stand for her
even if she is against me
even if she is not for me
I must be for her
brave for her, there for her,
here for her
even if I´ve been thrown out
shut out, shoved out
I must, since I´ve taken her in
keep her in
even without reciprocity
one-sided affair, going about
upon one leg
stand up for her upon one leg
I wept just now to think of this
of words you said-
of this stipulation
on behalf of who was then
my wife to be
who was then to be my wife
not the first time that I have cried
recalling- bringing back to mind
your standing in on her behalf
I had been- have been-
thought I was being
true to this commitment
you invited, insisted upon
just did not realize
that I was being called
to stand up for Maya,
to stand with her
even if she turned against me
even if
the winds of our romance
shifted
this is a test
don´t know if even you meant
that I should be loyal still
loyal after what we were
or what I thought we were
was over
is this another phase
within our affair
certainly and fortunately
it is another phase
within my life
within her life
fortunately life does go on
life goes on in Mexico City
what of that affair though, our affair
where is it now- what is it now
what are we now
where are we now
what you whispered to me, in English
aside Maya possibly, still,
knows nothing of:
stand by her,
she is very important to us
as a poet, as a teacher,
as a mother, as a daughter
as as sister, as a friend
was like our marriage vows
exchanged, there on that sidewalk
in that neighbourhood
I miss and cherish
cherish and miss
not at all far from her front door
the bars across which, I had keys to
bunch of three she had cut for me
we were beginning to love each other
love between us
was beginning to deepen
adjustments to be made,
we were beginning to face
to confront, to contemplate
her spirit or mine, recalcitrant
stubborn, unwilling to budge
unwilling to move this way or that,
an inch or two
amazing that this call, it seems,
still stands, to stand by her
by whatever commitment it was
that we, at that point, had made
it was a rock
upon which we stood that day
it was solid indeed
it was love indeed
it was truth indeed
it´s me, it´s me, oh, Lord
we, oh, we, oh, Lord
standing in the need of prayer
me, oh, me, oh, Lord
in need of prayer
in the deed of prayer
romance by itself,
fickle, flimsy
needing the undergurding
of Agape to give it substance,
weight, import
to sustain it, to enable it
to sustain us, to bear us up
to hold together what is shifting
what is split, what needs,
miraculously, to be mended
like soles of shoes
holes through leather
needing to be fixed
needing to be placed
in a cobbler´s hands
what did I promise:
to stand by, sit by,
walk beside, run beside
lie beside, die beside her
these vows- these pledges
made in the church
that is all the world
in the church
that is without walls
in the church
that is creation
occurring again
we like the first two people
like that first couple
occurring again
created again
how naked she has left me
we were clothed in our love
in that alone
what is she wearing
without me- away from me
what web or world
is she whirling around in
is she being whirled around in
here I am, my axis is the ball point
of this Bick pen
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
11:54 p.m. 06.01.12
Peaches & Pears in a Can
for Willem F. Harding
no no no, not X, but Y, but why
but my girlfriend
we were engaged to be married
we still are
how do you reverse that in a week
what if she has left me with cream
to smear onto the head of my penis
an itch, however severe,
can be corrected
what cream is there to smear
onto- rub into the wound
when a heart breaks
when there is a broken heart
what of when
there are two broken hearts
blood pouring from them
in all the wrong places
want her back again
want her back to me
front and back
this way and that
on top of me
on top of her
in intercourse
in love
in Mexico City
Mexican woman
Bahamian man
peaches and pears in a can
to open, to add cream to
the syrup they're in
we used to be so fresh once
exist now only to reflect upon
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
8:45 a.m. 06.01.12
